Murals I - Exploration II - Fort Dearborn III - The New City IV - Float Bridge and I & M Canal V - Three Swing Bridges VI - The Great Fire VII - Three Bridges VIII - Columbian Exposition IX - Reversal of the Waters X - Michigan Avenue Bridge XI - Grant Park and the Burnham Plan XII - A Century of Progress XIII - The South Branch XIV - The North Branch XV - The Main Branch XVI - The Riverwalk Artwork copyright 2000 Ellen Lanyon All rights reserved Acknowledgements by Ellen Lanyon Essay by Michael Rooks

I - Exploration 1673: Guided by the Kaskaskia Indians, Pere Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Jolliet, an explorer, arrive at the portage to Lake Michigan. Jolliet envisioned a waterway that would provided clear passage to the gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi. Insets, top center -- Chicago (Chicagou in the Algonquin tongue) was named for the wild onions that grew in abundance on the river banks. Midcenter, 1679: Rene Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, who built Le Griffon, the first ship of commerce on the Great Lakes, predicted that one day Chicago would be a great city. Right side, 1703: La Hontan's map indicated the portage and the site of Chicago on Lake Michigan.